Minnesotans mixed on Afghanistan surge

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- President Obama plans to announce his new Afghanistan war strategy Tuesday night, and early reports indicate he'll send as many as 35,000 more troops there.

At the VFW in Crystal, Jan Thonander agreed with the strategy, saying the country needs to be stabilized and more troops could help. 

Her son-in-law returned from Afghanistan just a couple months ago and her grandson will be heading there soon.  She also has a granddaughter in the Army.

"It's scary, but I really feel they need to go over there, get finished and bring our kids home," she said.

But many Americans -- and Minnesotans -- are wary.

"Most Americans want the United States out of this war, so why is our government not listening to their own people?" says Marie Braun of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and Twin Cities Peace Campaign.

President Obama has said his strategy will "put us on a path toward ending the war."  His plan will focus on training Afghan forces to American troops can leave.

"You can be assured the President will talk about the fact that this is not an open-ended commitment," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

But anything short of a withdrawal will keep Braun protesting.

"The longer we stay there, the larger the number of people will come out and will be protesting this war," she said.

President Obama will address the nation from West Point at 7 p.m. Tuesday night.  He's expected to give more details and say how he intends to pay for the plan, which is a major concern for many in Congress.

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